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Founders, be wary of advice to ditch trad media, pr agencies, etc and rely solely on your own media channels.
The whole value of PR is that it's NOT your own channel.
You want both (THREAD).
The whole value of PR is that it's NOT your own channel.
You want both (THREAD).
PR isn't a one-size-fits-all thing. If u want to announce a new product or feature u want to be in whatever media yr users are consuming--e.g. via a news outlet, an influencer, a podcast, etc. That obviously will look v diff if you are a DTC shoe brand than say security software.
Sometimes most valuable outlets = natl papers or tech sites. But say ur working to apply AI to a construction problem. U want 2 be in the trade pub the construction execs read. Facing a regulatory issue in Europe? Most in Brussels read the FT. DTC makeup brand? Beauty influencers
I agree w/ advice from @arrington @balajis etc that having ur own channel is important. You can/should build a legion of fans/customers who want to hear directly from the source. They also become your evangelists. But u prob can't rely on that alone, particularly as u grow.
Your channel is essentially advertising--it's your words, marketed to others. That def. has value, but it's often not the same as when a 3rd party writes about u. When someone who wasn't paid to write about u writes something about ur company it's perceived as more trustworthy.
That said, founders do waste a lot on PR they don't need and/or can't get (but pay to try to get), eg. ego/personal profile pr, fundraising announcements, trying to get natl papers to care abt a prod launch. Going direct here makes more sense.
Finally, sometimes not engaging w/ media is a smart move. (Loads could be written abt when!) But engaging is a way to try to shape the story--good journos don't come in with a fully baked story, even if they have biases.
Navigating diff pubs/journos is a skill--IMO founders prob have better things to spend time on
Also, here's the real machiavellian take: responding will at a minimum take up column inches that otherwise could've been aimed at attacking you. :-)
Also, here's the real machiavellian take: responding will at a minimum take up column inches that otherwise could've been aimed at attacking you. :-)
